The unexpected heartthrob — who kicks off his North American headline tour August 21 — talks about the Biebs and betrayal.

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The unexpected heartthrob — who kicks off his North American headline tour August 21 — talks about the Biebs and betrayal.

What's your take on being considered hot?
I never expected any of this to happen. I think attractive men are quite threatening, because they know they're attractive and go in with a sort of confidence that can be very unattractive. There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. People in pop bands usually look quite nice, but the boy next-door is going to look like a normal person. I don't think I look like a pop star.

What's your current guilty pleasure?
Justin Bieber's album, Journals. What he's done in the press has completely overshadowed how good that album is.

Worst date ever?
That's what one of the singles [on X] is about — the girl I was seeing slept with my friend at my own party while I was in the same hotel.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
The world is convinced that Taylor [Swift] and I dated. Everyone, even my friends are like, "Yeah, but you did, right?" I haven't. I legitimately haven't.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
The power of healing. Whenever anyone gets ill — terminal cancer, fucking leukemia — you can just go "Bam!" and they're well again. My grandfather had Alzheimer's, so he was never quite aware of who I was. If I could have just clicked my fingers ... You'd be very busy. You'd spend your whole time in hospitals, but the power of healing would be the best.

This article was originally published as "Cosmo Guy: Ed Sheeran" in the August 2014 issue of Cosmopolitan. Pick up the issue on newsstands July 8 or click here to subscribe to the digital edition!